NSW Local Government Minister Ron Hoenig has promised closer scrutiny of Hawkesbury City Council after several controversies were raised during a parliamentary Budget Estimates hearing.
John Ruddick MLC asked whether the Office of Local Government should conduct an independent investigation into Council’s governance, expenditure, recruitment practices, workplace culture and use of statutory powers and public resources.
The matters he raised included Council’s handling of a criminal case involving Cr Eddie Dogramaci, a demand concerning comments on the Hawkesbury Gazette’s Facebook page and the Gazette’s continuing exclusion from Council premises for media purposes.
Mr Hoenig stopped short of ordering a formal investigation but said the Office should consider the matters collectively and view events at Hawkesbury with “more scepticism”.
“I’ll have the Office of Local Government view whatever is occurring there with a bit more scepticism and see if we can get them to improve their functioning,” he said.
“I’ll get them to look at it with more scepticism rather than as isolated matters, because cumulatively those things get worse.”
Media ban “not sustainable”
Mr Ruddick told the parliamentary committee that Council had demanded the Gazette remove third-party Facebook comments critical of Council and had subsequently banned local media from its premises.
He described the incidents as evidence of a broader pattern of dysfunction.
Mr Hoenig responded by strongly criticising the exclusion of journalists from Council meetings and premises.
“The bizarre attempt to ban a journalist or reporters from attending council and things of that nature is just not sustainable and is inconsistent with the open meeting requirements,” he said.
The Minister said Council’s asserted responsibility to protect the health and safety of its staff had to be balanced against its democratic obligations.
“As a democratic institution, council has to be publicly accountable for its actions,” he said.
Mr Hoenig said the Office of Local Government was making inquiries into the matter and promised to pursue it “with more great haste”.
Hawkesbury City Council banned the Gazette and Hawkesbury Radio from Council premises for media purposes on April 28 2026, citing workplace health and safety concerns.
The ban on Hawkesbury Radio was lifted on July 1. The station no longer provides a political commentary program called "The Common Point" that occasionally critiqued the actions of Hawkesbury Council.
The Gazette’s exclusion remains in place and applies to all representatives, staff and agents of the Hawkesbury Gazette.
The Gazette disputes Council’s allegations and has sought the restoration of access to Council meetings and premises.
Whitworth believed dispute had been resolved
Brett Whitworth PSM, Deputy Secretary of the Office of Local Government, told the committee that he had written to Council about the ban.
“I have written to the council and indicated that, as the Minister said, banning media is not an appropriate approach in terms of the freedom of political communication,” Mr Whitworth said.
He said Council had also been reminded of the need for openness and transparency.
However, Mr Whitworth revealed that he had not continued following the matter because he believed it had been resolved.
“As I understand it, there were conversations that were going on, but I haven’t followed through because it seemed that the situation had resolved itself,” he said.
Mr Whitworth pointed to Council’s continued livestreaming of meetings, which allowed the Gazette to report by watching proceedings online.
The Gazette maintains that watching a webcast is not equivalent to attending a public meeting. Remote viewing prevents journalists from directly observing events inside the chamber, approaching councillors or officials and exercising the same access available to other media organisations and members of the public.
The Gazette has asked the Office why Mr Whitworth believed the situation had resolved when Council’s exclusion of the Gazette remained in effect.
“Vigorous attacks” on staff alleged
Mr Whitworth also told the committee that he had met with the then-acting general manager, now General Manager Will Barton.
Mr Whitworth said Mr Barton was managing “quite significant workplace health and safety concerns” arising from what Mr Whitworth described as “fairly vigorous attacks on staff”.
Mr Whitworth called the alleged conduct “quite disgraceful” and said he felt strongly about the approximately 65,000 people employed in NSW local government who provide services to their communities.
No details of the alleged attacks were provided during the hearing.
Mr Whitworth did not identify the people allegedly responsible for the attacks or provide examples of the conduct.
Mr Ruddick interjected that the attacks were not coming from the Gazette and suggested they could involve other members of the public. Mr Whitworth did not expressly confirm or reject that characterisation before continuing his answer.
Mr Barton previously told the ABC and other media organisations that the Gazette’s exclusion was a pre-emptive workplace safety measure. He did not identify a particular incident involving the Gazette that prompted the ban.
The Gazette is seeking further information from the Office of Local Government about the evidence underlying Mr Whitworth’s statement and whether the allegations were independently verified before being reported to Parliament.
Gazette seeks evidence behind “vigorous attacks” claim
The Gazette has written to Mr Whitworth seeking the factual basis for his statement and asking whether the allegations were independently verified before he reported them to Parliament.
In its letter, sent on September 3 2026, the Gazette asked:
- What did Mr Whitworth mean by “quite significant workplace health and safety concerns” and “fairly vigorous attacks on staff”?
- What evidence was provided to Mr Whitworth or the Office of Local Government, including any complaints, incident reports, risk assessments, witness accounts or correspondence?
- Did the Office independently verify the allegations or refer them to SafeWork NSW, particularly given Mr Whitworth’s expressed concern for the approximately 65,000 people working in NSW local government?
- Did Mr Whitworth discuss his concerns with the United Services Union, the principal union representing NSW local-government employees, or with any other workplace health and safety, workers’ compensation or employee-support body?
- Did any of the alleged attacks involve the Hawkesbury Gazette or its representatives? If so, did they occur before the media ban was imposed on April 28, and how does that accord with Mr Barton’s description of the ban as pre-emptive?
- During his meeting with Mr Barton, did Mr Whitworth raise the separate SafeWork NSW inquiry into alleged councillor-on-councillor bullying at Hawkesbury City Council, and has he since referred the alleged attacks on staff to SafeWork?
The existing NSW SafeWork inquiry into Hawkesbury City Council followed a complaint made by the Gazette after a councillor publicly disclosed suicidal ideation that they said arose from councillor-on-councillor bullying.
Mr Barton did not make a referral and told concerned people they could contact the relevant authorities directly.
The Gazette told Mr Whitworth that when Council employees approach it with allegations of workplace bullying, it directs them towards appropriate avenues such as Council’s Employee Assistance Program, workers’ compensation processes, their union or relevant government agencies.
Because no incidents or responsible parties were identified during the hearing, the Gazette has asked the Office of Local Government what information informed Mr Whitworth’s evidence and whether that information had been independently assessed.
The approximately 69,300 residents of the Hawkesbury Local Government Area, as well as the thousands of employees working in NSW local government, are entitled to understand what information led the State’s senior local-government regulator to make the statement.
The Office of Local Government was invited to respond and identify any factual errors by close of business on September 4. No response had been received by publication time. This report will be updated if a response is provided.
Dogramaci judgment sought
Mr Ruddick also raised the criminal prosecution of Cr Eddie Dogramaci, which arose from an approximately $4,000 technology-equipment reimbursement claim involving Council.
Cr Dogramaci was found not guilty in August. Mr Ruddick told the committee that the magistrate had questioned the use of three days of court time and public resources over the amount involved.
Departmental Secretary Kiersten Fishburn said councillor suspensions are lifted once criminal proceedings are dismissed.
Mr Whitworth confirmed that the Office had written to both Council and Cr Dogramaci and was seeking a copy of the judgment from the court.
Mr Hoenig said the circumstances described by Mr Ruddick represented a potentially serious matter requiring his attention.
“I’ll get a copy of the judgment because, if that’s what it says, Mr Ruddick, it’s a rather serious matter that needs the Minister’s attention,” he said.
No independent investigation yet
Despite promising closer scrutiny, Mr Hoenig said Hawkesbury City Council was “probably not that close” to the threshold for a formal independent investigation.
The exchange indicates that the Minister expects the Office to consider the controversies collectively rather than treating each as an isolated matter.
The Gazette will publish any response from Council, Mr Barton or the Office of Local Government in full or fairly in context.
The evidence was given before NSW Parliament’s Portfolio Committee No. 8 on September 2. The published transcript is marked uncorrected, and quotations should be checked against the corrected record when it becomes available.
